Audio Description and Subtitling Course

Lesson 1 • Regulatory and Standards Landscape

Introduces broadcast, streaming, and cinema accessibility mandates without citing specific codes. Students recognise compliance obligations that shape professional deliverables.

Lesson 2 • The Media Accessibility Workflow

Maps the end-to-end production pipeline from source content to delivered access service. Introduces roles, handoff points, and quality checkpoints students will encounter throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • Professional Ethics and Conduct

Covers confidentiality, impartiality, and accuracy as core professional values. Establishes the ethical framework students apply in every practical exercise.

Lesson 4 • What Media Accessibility Means

Defines media accessibility and its social, legal, and commercial drivers. Grounds all subsequent technical work in a clear understanding of why accessibility services exist.

Lesson 1 • Condensation and Verbatim Approaches

Contrasts verbatim subtitling with meaning-preserving condensation techniques. Students choose the appropriate approach based on content type and platform requirements.

Lesson 2 • Non-Speech Information in Subtitles

Covers labelling of sound effects, music, and speaker identification for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. Students learn when and how to include non-speech cues without cluttering the screen.

Lesson 3 • Segmentation and Line Breaks

Teaches syntactic and semantic rules for splitting text across subtitle lines and blocks. Correct segmentation prevents comprehension errors caused by awkward mid-phrase breaks.

Lesson 4 • Reading Speed and Line Length

Establishes characters-per-second and characters-per-line norms for different audience groups. Students apply these metrics to ensure subtitles are readable without pausing.

Lesson 1 • Spotting: In-Points and Out-Points

Teaches the rules for setting subtitle in-points and out-points relative to speech onset and offset. Proper spotting prevents subtitles from appearing too early or lingering too long.

Lesson 2 • Subtitle Positioning and Styling

Covers vertical and horizontal placement rules and colour coding for speaker differentiation. Correct positioning prevents subtitles from obscuring critical visual information.

Lesson 3 • Subtitle File Formats

Surveys SRT, WebVTT, TTML, EBU STL, and IMSC formats and their platform contexts. Students select and convert between formats to meet delivery specifications.

Lesson 4 • Quality Control for Subtitle Timing

Introduces automated and manual QC checks for timing errors, gaps, and overlaps. Students run QC passes and interpret error reports before final delivery.

Lesson 1 • Purpose and Audience of Audio Description

Defines audio description as a service for blind and low-vision viewers and explains its cognitive function. Students articulate the difference between describing and interpreting visual content.

Lesson 2 • Describing Settings and On-Screen Text

Covers techniques for conveying location, time of day, and written text that appears on screen. Students learn when to read text verbatim and when to paraphrase for time efficiency.

Lesson 3 • Describing Characters and Appearance

Teaches objective, inclusive methods for describing people, expressions, and physical actions. Students apply bias-free language guidelines when describing race, gender, and age.

Lesson 4 • Language and Style in Audio Description

Covers active voice, present tense, precise vocabulary, and neutral tone as AD writing standards. Consistent style ensures descriptions integrate naturally with the programme's audio.

Lesson 1 • Writing to Time: Script Fitting

Introduces syllable counting, reading-rate estimation, and iterative trimming to fit descriptions into gaps. Students rewrite descriptions until they fit without rushing the narrator.

Lesson 2 • Structuring a Full AD Script

Covers script layout conventions including timecodes, cue numbers, and character counts. A well-structured script reduces recording errors and speeds up the studio session.

Lesson 3 • Extended Audio Description

Explains when and how to pause playback to insert longer descriptions for information-dense scenes. Students identify scenes that require extended AD and draft appropriate pauses.

Lesson 4 • Script Review and Revision Process

Establishes a structured peer-review and self-editing workflow for AD scripts. Students apply a checklist covering accuracy, timing, language, and inclusivity before submission.

Lesson 1 • Working with Multilingual Content

Addresses code-switching, accents, and dialect representation in subtitle files. Students apply consistent conventions when source content contains multiple languages.

Lesson 2 • Cultural Adaptation in Subtitles

Covers strategies for adapting humour, idioms, cultural references, and proper nouns for target audiences. Students choose between domestication and foreignisation based on content and platform.

Lesson 3 • Interlingual Subtitling Principles

Distinguishes interlingual subtitling from intralingual and explains the additional constraints of translation. Students understand how source language structure affects target subtitle segmentation.

Lesson 4 • Subtitle Translation Workflow

Maps the localisation pipeline from template creation through translation, spotting, and QC. Students use translation memory and glossary tools to maintain consistency across episodes.

Lesson 1 • Error Management in Live Subtitling

Covers recognition, correction, and recovery strategies when errors appear in live output. Students develop protocols for minimising viewer impact during high-stakes broadcasts.

Lesson 2 • Introduction to Live Subtitling Methods

Surveys respeaking, stenography, and automatic speech recognition as live subtitling methods. Students compare accuracy, latency, and cost trade-offs for different production contexts.

Lesson 3 • Live Audio Description for Events

Adapts AD scripting and delivery skills to live theatre, sports, and museum contexts. Students draft live AD frameworks and practise improvised description within structured guidelines.

Lesson 4 • Respeaking Technique and Training

Develops the respeaking skill set including voice clarity, punctuation commands, and error monitoring. Students practise respeaking exercises that build speed and accuracy simultaneously.

Lesson 1 • Client Specifications and Style Guides

Teaches how to read, interpret, and apply client-specific style guides and technical delivery specs. Students adapt their default workflow to meet varying platform requirements.

Lesson 2 • File Packaging and Delivery

Covers naming conventions, folder structures, metadata embedding, and secure file transfer methods. Correct packaging prevents delivery failures and protects confidential content.

Lesson 3 • Handling Revisions and Client Feedback

Establishes a professional workflow for receiving, logging, and implementing client revision requests. Students practise version control and communicate changes clearly in writing.

Lesson 4 • Building a QA Checklist

Guides students in constructing comprehensive QA checklists covering timing, language, style, and technical specs. A reusable checklist reduces errors and speeds up review cycles.